The BMA have apologised to female doctors who have experienced sexism and sexual harassment after an independent enquiry described it as 'an old boys' club' that undervalued women.

The trade union which represents about 70% of Britain's 240,000 doctors, has promised sweeping reforms of its processes and culture in response to the findings, reported The Guardian on 20 October.

Daphne Romney QC found that some female medics and BMA personnel "feel they are undervalued, ignored and patronised because they are women. This applies to both doctors and members of (union) staff. This is because of an 'old boys' club' culture for some that lingers on without proper challenge, which treats women as of less importance and ability."

NHS England have published new guidance for practices to ensure that learning disabilities registers are comprehensive and up-to-date and vulnerable patients are given the opportunity to receive flu vaccines and annual health checks. We encourage all our practices to use this regularly to review their learning disabilities registers to ensure they are up-to-date so that the right patients are being invited to attend vaccinations and clinics.

A new debt and mental health form and process has just been introduced following a cross sector agreement with the BMA. New BMA guidance was been published on 1st October 2019 and a much shorter form has been introduced that can be completed by a wider range of healthcare professionals, thereby reducing the burden on GPs. As part of the agreement, GPs in England can no longer charge a fee for completing a DMHEF. The only contractual requirement is to answer Yes or No when asked when the indebted person has a mental health condition and if the answer is Yes, then to give the name of this condition.

https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/